2010 FIFA World Cup Group C

Group C of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 12 June and ended on 23 June 2010. The group consisted of national association football teams from England, the United States, Algeria and Slovenia. The United States and England progressed to the round of 16 undefeated. The United States won the group, winning one match and drawing two. England had an identical record and goal difference but the United States finished top having scored more goals than England. Slovenia finished the group third having won a game, with Algeria finishing fourth with a single point.

Only England and the United States had previously met at a World Cup in 1950, when the United States defeated England 1–0.

Teams

The teams were decided by World Cup draw that took place on 4 December 2009. ^[1] The group was set to receive one team from each pot, which sorted all World Cup teams by position on the FIFA World Rankings as of October 2009. ^[2]

The first team drawn was England, which secured qualification as a pot one team by winning Group 6 of UEFA qualification. ^[3] The United States finished top of the CONCACAF fourth round group. ^[4] The pot 3 team was Algeria who qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1986 thanks to a one-off play-off win against Egypt. ^[5] The play-off tie was played in Khartoum after the two sides finished level with each other in Group C. ^[5] Post-match, a diplomatic spat occurred between the two nations with Egypt later threatening to quit international football for two years due to the alleged behaviour of Algerian fans. ^[6] There were also violent demonstrations in Cairo near the Algerian embassy. ^[6] The final team was Slovenia who finished second in Group 3 of UEFA qualification, two points behind Slovakia. ^[3] In the subsequent play-offs, Slovenia defeated Russia in a two-legged tie to qualify for the finals. ^{[3] [7]}

England were considered favourites to win Group C. ^{[8] [9]} In a pre-tournament preview, The Guardian's Kevin McCarra analysed England's chances ahead of the tournament: "If Wayne Rooney stayed fit, if Steven Gerrard got his form back and if the centre-backs were in rude health, England would present a severe problem to most. Capello needs to refresh a dynamism that has waned. Semi-finalists." ^[10] The Guardian previewed the US' chances: "The USA have been quietly optimistic about their chances of making a splash in South Africa ever since reaching the Confederations Cup final last year, where they lost to Brazil. They are confident of making it out of what is perceived to be a weak group and believe they can challenge England for first place." ^[11]

FIFA World Cup Group C draw ^[12]

Draw position	Team	Pot	Confederation	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Last appearance	Previous best performance	FIFA Rankings [13]
									October 2009 [nb 1]	May 2010
B1	England	1	UEFA	UEFA Group 6 winners	9 September 2009	13th	2006	Winners (1966) [14]	7	8
B2	United States	2	CONCACAF	CONCACAF fourth round winners	10 October 2009	9th	2006	Third place (1930) [14]	11	14
B3	Algeria	3	CAF	CAF third round Group C winners	18 November 2009	3rd	1986	Group stage (1982, 1986) [14]	29	30
B4	Slovenia	4	UEFA	UEFA play-off winners	18 November 2009	2nd	2002	Group stage (2002) [14]	49	25

Notes

1. The rankings of October 2009 were used for seeding for the final draw.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	England	3	1	2	0	2	1	+1	5
3	Slovenia	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
4	Algeria	3	0	1	2	0	2	−2	1

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria

• The United States advanced to play Ghana (runners-up of Group D) in the round of 16.
• England advanced to play Germany (winners of Group D) in the round of 16.

Matches

Matches took place between 12 June and 23 June 2010. ^[15] All times listed are local, UTC+2. ^[15]

England vs United States

The opening match of group C was contested between England and the United States. ^[16] The two sides had previously played each other nine times with England winning on seven occasions and the United States on two. ^[17] The teams had previously played each other once in the FIFA World Cup in 1950. ^[17] The USA won 1–0 in one of the biggest World Cup shock results of all time. ^{[18] [19]}

England took an early lead, Emile Heskey played a through ball to Steven Gerrard who slid the ball under Tim Howard in the 4th minute. ^[16] However, the Three Lions failed to build on their lead, with the U.S. having plenty of possession in the first half. ^[16] The United States equalised in the 40th minute when a seemingly harmless pot shot by Clint Dempsey was mishandled by England goalkeeper Robert Green and rolled into the net. ^[16] Early in the second half, Heskey was played through on goal but could only shoot straight at Tim Howard. ^[16] After several missed half-chances from England, Jozy Altidore forced a save onto the post from Green, highlighting England's lack of pace in central defence. ^[16] Post-match, the U.S.' manager Bob Bradley was full of praise for his team's performance. ^[20]

12 June 2010

20:30

England	1–1	United States
Gerrard 4'	Report	Dempsey 40'

Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg

Attendance: 38,646

Referee: Carlos Simon (Brazil) ^[21]

England [22]

United States [22]

GK 12 Robert Green RB 2 Glen Johnson CB 6 John Terry CB 20 Ledley King  46' LB 3 Ashley Cole RM 7 Aaron Lennon CM 8 Frank Lampard CM 4 Steven Gerrard (c)  61' LM 16 James Milner  26'  31' SS 10 Wayne Rooney CF 21 Emile Heskey  79' Substitutions: MF 17 Shaun Wright-Phillips  31' DF 18 Jamie Carragher  60'  46' FW 9 Peter Crouch  79' Manager: Fabio Capello

GK 1 Tim Howard RB 6 Steve Cherundolo  39' CB 15 Jay DeMerit  47' CB 5 Oguchi Onyewu LB 3 Carlos Bocanegra (c) RM 8 Clint Dempsey CM 4 Michael Bradley CM 13 Ricardo Clark LM 10 Landon Donovan CF 17 Jozy Altidore  86' CF 20 Robbie Findley  74'  77' Substitutions: FW 14 Edson Buddle  77' MF 11 Stuart Holden  86' Manager: Bob Bradley

Man of the Match: Tim Howard (United States) Assistant referees: Altemir Hausmann (Brazil) [21] Roberto Braatz (Brazil) [21] Fourth official: Eddy Maillet (Seychelles) [21] Fifth official: Evarist Menkouande (Cameroon) [21]

Algeria vs Slovenia

The following day, Algeria met Slovenia in Polokwane. ^[23] There were few chances created throughout the first half. ^[23] However, in the 72nd minute, Algeria's substitute Abdelkader Ghezzal was dismissed for the accumulation of two yellow cards, the second being a handball. ^[23] Seven minutes later, Slovenia's talisman Robert Koren scored the winning goal from 20 yards. ^[23]

13 June 2010

13:30

Algeria	0–1	Slovenia
	Report	Koren 79'

Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane

Attendance: 30,325

Referee: Carlos Batres (Guatemala) ^[24]

Algeria [25]

Slovenia [25]

GK 16 Faouzi Chaouchi RB 4 Antar Yahia (c) CB 2 Madjid Bougherra CB 5 Rafik Halliche LB 3 Nadir Belhadj RM 8 Mehdi Lacen CM 15 Karim Ziani LM 19 Hassan Yebda  90+5' RW 21 Foued Kadir  82' LW 13 Karim Matmour  81' CF 11 Rafik Djebbour  58' Substitutions: FW 9 Abdelkader Ghezzal  59'  73'  58' FW 10 Rafik Saïfi  81' MF 17 Adlène Guedioura  82' Manager: Rabah Saâdane

GK 1 Samir Handanović RB 2 Mišo Brečko CB 4 Marko Šuler CB 5 Boštjan Cesar LB 13 Bojan Jokić RM 17 Andraž Kirm CM 8 Robert Koren (c) CM 18 Aleksandar Radosavljević  35'  87' LM 10 Valter Birsa  84' SS 14 Zlatko Dedić  53' CF 11 Milivoje Novaković Substitutions: FW 9 Zlatan Ljubijankić  53' FW 7 Nejc Pečnik  84' MF 20 Andrej Komac  90+3'  87' Manager: Matjaž Kek

Man of the Match: Robert Koren (Slovenia) Assistant referees: Leonel Leal (Costa Rica) [24] Carlos Pastrana (Honduras) [24] Fourth official: Peter O'Leary (New Zealand) [21] Fifth official: Brent Best (New Zealand) [21]

Slovenia vs United States

In the second round of matches, Slovenia met the U.S. in Johannesburg. Slovenia went into half time with a 2–0 lead. ^[26] Valter Birsa opened the scoring for Slovenia in an impressive fashion, collecting the ball from 25 yards out before curling the ball into the left-hand corner. ^[26] After a dominant start from the Slovenians, the United States began to create some chances to equalise. ^[26] However, on the counter-attack, Milivoje Novaković played a through ball to Zlatan Ljubijankić who managed to slot the ball under Tim Howard for their second goal. ^[26] In response, the U.S.' manager made a double substitution at half time. ^[26] In the opening stages of the second half, the United States halved the deficit via Landon Donovan after Boštjan Cesar had missed the flight of a long ball; Donovan then managed to collect the ball and hit his shot into the roof of the net from a tight angle. ^[26] With eight minutes remaining, a long ball for the U.S. was knocked down by Joze Altidore to the oncoming Michael Bradley who finished past Samir Handanović on the half-volley to equalise the match at 2–2. ^[26] The United States had looked as if they had won the match after a Donovan free-kick was turned in by Maurice Edu. ^[26] However, the referee controversially disallowed the goal. ^[26] Post-match, Bob Bradley said that he had no doubt that the referee had got the decision wrong. ^[27]

18 June 2010

16:00

Slovenia	2–2	United States
Birsa 13' Ljubijankić 42'	Report	Donovan 48' Bradley 82'

Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg

Attendance: 45,573

Referee: Koman Coulibaly (Mali) ^[28]

Slovenia [29]

United States [29]

GK 1 Samir Handanović RB 2 Mišo Brečko CB 4 Marko Šuler  69' CB 5 Boštjan Cesar  35' LB 13 Bojan Jokić  75' CM 8 Robert Koren (c) CM 18 Aleksandar Radosavljević RW 10 Valter Birsa  87' LW 17 Andraž Kirm  72' CF 9 Zlatan Ljubijankić  74' CF 11 Milivoje Novaković Substitutions: FW 7 Nejc Pečnik  74'  90+4' FW 14 Zlatko Dedić  87' MF 20 Andrej Komac  90+4' Manager: Matjaž Kek

GK 1 Tim Howard RB 6 Steve Cherundolo CB 15 Jay DeMerit CB 5 Oguchi Onyewu  80' LB 3 Carlos Bocanegra (c) RM 10 Landon Donovan CM 16 José Francisco Torres  46' CM 4 Michael Bradley LM 8 Clint Dempsey CF 17 Jozy Altidore CF 20 Robbie Findley  40'  46' Substitutions: MF 22 Benny Feilhaber  46' MF 19 Maurice Edu  46' FW 9 Herculez Gomez  80' Manager: Bob Bradley

The Slovenia and United States teams line up for the national anthems before the game

Man of the Match: Landon Donovan (United States) Assistant referees: Redouane Achik (Morocco) [28] Inácio Cândido (Angola) [28] Fourth official: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia) [28] Fifth official: Jeffrey Goh Gek Pheng (Singapore) [28]

England vs Algeria

Prior to the match, England manager Fabio Capello took the decision to drop goalkeeper Rob Green following his high-profile error against the United States, replacing him with David James. ^[30] Algeria also opted to change their goalkeeper with Raïs M'Bolhi replacing Faouzi Chaouchi. ^[30]

The match finished goalless after few chances were created by either side and with Algeria often seeming more comfortable in possession. ^{[30] [31]} As England left the pitch, Wayne Rooney was heard on camera saying "Nice to see your own fans booing you." which he later apologised for. ^{[31] [32]} Writing for Sky Sports , James Dall described England's performance as unimaginative and nervy. ^[30]

18 June 2010

20:30

England	0–0	Algeria
	Report

Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town

Attendance: 64,100

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan) ^[28]

England [33]

Algeria [33]

GK 1 David James RB 2 Glen Johnson CB 18 Jamie Carragher  58' CB 6 John Terry LB 3 Ashley Cole RM 7 Aaron Lennon  63' CM 14 Gareth Barry  84' CM 8 Frank Lampard LM 4 Steven Gerrard (c) SS 10 Wayne Rooney CF 21 Emile Heskey  74' Substitutions: MF 17 Shaun Wright-Phillips  63' FW 19 Jermain Defoe  74' FW 9 Peter Crouch  84' Manager: Fabio Capello

GK 23 Raïs M'Bolhi CB 2 Madjid Bougherra CB 5 Rafik Halliche CB 4 Antar Yahia (c) RM 21 Foued Kadir CM 19 Hassan Yebda  88' CM 8 Mehdi Lacen  85' LM 3 Nadir Belhadj AM 7 Ryad Boudebouz  74' AM 15 Karim Ziani  81' CF 13 Karim Matmour Substitutions: MF 22 Djamel Abdoun  74' MF 17 Adlène Guedioura  81' DF 20 Djamel Mesbah  88' Manager: Rabah Saâdane

England vs Algeria

Man of the Match: Ashley Cole (England) Assistant referees: Rafael Ilyasov (Uzbekistan) [28] Bakhadyr Kochkarov (Kyrgyzstan) [28] Fourth official: Michael Hester (New Zealand) [28] Fifth official: Jan Hendrik Hintz (New Zealand) [28]

Slovenia vs England

Jermain Defoe's 23rd-minute goal allowed England to claim the win and progress to the knockout stage of the competition. After the goal, England created several more chances but were unable to add to their lead.

23 June 2010

16:00

Slovenia	0–1	England
	Report	Defoe 23'

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Attendance: 36,893

Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

Slovenia [34]

England [34]

GK 1 Samir Handanović RB 2 Mišo Brečko CB 4 Marko Šuler CB 5 Boštjan Cesar LB 13 Bojan Jokić  40' CM 8 Robert Koren (c) CM 18 Aleksandar Radosavljević RW 10 Valter Birsa  79' LW 17 Andraž Kirm  79' CF 9 Zlatan Ljubijankić  62' CF 11 Milivoje Novaković Substitutions: FW 14 Zlatko Dedić  81'  62' FW 23 Tim Matavž  79' Manager: Matjaž Kek

GK 1 David James RB 2 Glen Johnson  48' CB 15 Matthew Upson CB 6 John Terry LB 3 Ashley Cole RM 4 Steven Gerrard (c) CM 8 Frank Lampard CM 14 Gareth Barry LM 16 James Milner SS 19 Jermain Defoe  86' CF 10 Wayne Rooney  72' Substitutions: MF 11 Joe Cole  72' FW 21 Emile Heskey  86' Manager: Fabio Capello

Man of the Match: James Milner (England) Assistant referees: Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany) Mike Pickel (Germany) Fourth official: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador) Fifth official: William Torres (El Salvador)

United States vs Algeria

Early in the game, the United States nearly allowed another early goal as an Algerian shot hit the crossbar. Throughout the remainder of the game, the United States had a number of good chances against a solid Algerian defence that allowed just one goal from two games; striker Jozy Altidore volleyed wide of an open net, while Clint Dempsey had a goal disallowed for a controversial offside call and later hit the crossbar on a shot and missed an empty net on the rebound. After 90 minutes of a scoreless affair, the United States were at risk of elimination: with England leading Slovenia 1–0, a 0–0 draw for the United States would have caused them to finish third in Group C on three points (behind England on five and Slovenia on four). However, in stoppage time, American goalkeeper Tim Howard quickly threw an outlet pass to Landon Donovan, who moved the ball up the pitch and passed the ball just outside the box to Altidore, who then crossed the ball to an open Dempsey in the middle of the box. With the Algerian goalkeeper closing in, Dempsey shot quickly and was blocked; however, Donovan followed the shot and put the rebound into the net for an easy goal. The United States held on for the final few minutes for a 1–0 victory. The late goal not only saved the United States from elimination but also allowed them to win their group for the first time since 1930, advancing to play Ghana in the round of 16.

23 June 2010

16:00

United States	1–0	Algeria
Donovan 90+1'	Report

Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria

Attendance: 35,827

Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)

United States [35]

Algeria [35]

GK 1 Tim Howard RB 12 Jonathan Bornstein  80' CB 15 Jay DeMerit CB 3 Carlos Bocanegra (c) LB 6 Steve Cherundolo CM 4 Michael Bradley CM 19 Maurice Edu  64' RW 8 Clint Dempsey LW 10 Landon Donovan SS 17 Jozy Altidore  62' CF 9 Herculez Gomez  46' Substitutions: MF 22 Benny Feilhaber  46' FW 14 Edson Buddle  64' MF 7 DaMarcus Beasley  90'  80' Manager: Bob Bradley

GK 23 Raïs M'Bolhi CB 2 Madjid Bougherra CB 5 Rafik Halliche CB 4 Antar Yahia (c)  76'  90+3' RM 21 Foued Kadir CM 19 Hassan Yebda  12' CM 8 Mehdi Lacen  83' LM 3 Nadir Belhadj AM 13 Karim Matmour  84' AM 15 Karim Ziani  69' CF 11 Rafik Djebbour  65' Substitutions: FW 9 Abdelkader Ghezzal  65' MF 17 Adlène Guedioura  69' FW 10 Rafik Saïfi  84' Manager: Rabah Saâdane

Man of the Match: Landon Donovan (United States) Assistant referees: Peter Hermans (Belgium) Walter Vromans (Belgium) Fourth official: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia) Fifth official: Mu Yuxin (China)

See also

• Algeria at the FIFA World Cup
• England at the FIFA World Cup
• Slovenia at the FIFA World Cup
• United States at the FIFA World Cup

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